The Virginian

Virginian, The (1904), a play by Owen Wister and Kirke La Shelle. [Manhattan Theatre, 138 perf.] In a rough and tumble Wyoming of wild cowpunchers and ruthless cattle thieves, the Virginian (Dustin Farnum) is a model of rectitude and courtesy. He can put a foul‐mouth ruffian in his place by warning him, “When you call me that, smile!” But he also has a way with the gentler sex, so when he courts Molly (Agnes Ardeck), a schoolteacher from Vermont, she agrees to marry him. One of the many dramatizations of the novels popular at the time, the stage version lacked sufficient action and life according to many critics. Its success came largely from Farnum's performance. This collaboration in dramatizing his novel was the only major theatrical venture for the Pennsylvania‐born author Wister (1860–1938).